Retractable architectural coverings, such as coverings for structures, including walls and openings, such as windows, doorways, archways, or other architectural structure or feature, can be operated in numerous ways. Some retractable coverings include a flexible cord suspended from an end of a head rail. The flexible cord is operatively connected to a control mechanism within the head rail to move a shade material suspended from the head rail between extended and retracted positions across a respective architectural opening. The flexible cord can become entangled with itself, or may be formed into a loop about another object.
Some retractable coverings include a rigid wand, such as in the form of a rod, connected to an operating mechanism for opening or closing vanes or slats in the covering by twisting the wand about its longitudinal axis. An example of such a wand is conventionally found in Venetian blinds where the slats are tilted between open and closed positions by rotating such a wand, and a flexible cord, which is susceptible to becoming entangled with itself as mentioned above, is used to raise or lower the blind.